


Ashes To Ashes

by monohighbrid



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha Phoenix (Supernatural), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempt at Humor, Benny Lafitte & Dean Winchester Friendship, Benny deserves better, Canon Alphas, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Gen, Men of Letters, Post-Apocalypse, Purgatory, Spells & Enchantments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2019-08-08 15:06:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16431737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monohighbrid/pseuds/monohighbrid
Summary: A spell going wrong sends every critter from heaven, hell and in between to Earth. Benny Lafitte hasn't signed up for this but finds himself in the middle of the mess. Running into friends of Dean's he does the only thing he knows how, help. Maybe that's a decision that will come back and bite him in the arse.





	1. Chapter 1

_“You don’t know how to drive? Seriously?”_

_“I died 1786.”_

_“Fair enough.”_

Kathy fumbled with the ignition replaying the little dialog from 8 months ago in her head. It was a week or so after she got ejected out of purgatory. One moment she minded her own business surrounded by the endless grey autumn dawn and then, bang, blue sky, green grass and a confused vampire next to her. They had a little “I don’t kill you if you don’t kill me” standoff and then decided to stick around each other until they would find out what this was. For a while, the vamp suspected this had been about him and she was collateral weird, but soon enough they learned that all critters from purgatory, and from hell and heaven for the matter, had been spilled onto earth. Needless to say, the world went to shit rather quickly. That was the reason why Benny never acted on his promise to teach her how to drive, being busy with not getting killed by either monster or human, leading to their little “situation” right now. Benny out of it and with his head only half attached to his body and she trying to get the car started. How hard could it be? She had seen Benny do it all the time. Finally, the car stuttered to a start and she aimlessly pushed pedals until she was able to put a gear into shift.

“Ha,” she exclaimed satisfied and pushed the gas a little too hard. They leaped forward and for a second she thought she would lose control, but then the car stabilized and they rolled down the dirty asphalt road. Benny groaned next to her. The only reason he was at least barely conscious was that Kathy had ignored Benny’s strict “I don’t drink people” rule and force-fed him the rest of the blood still inside the guy who had swung a machete against the vampire, after she burned off his face and part of his torso, and maybe his left arm. She had been surprised and a bit shocked about the brutal attack out of nowhere, she and Benny had just sat around planning their next move, so getting a little excessive was understandable. Now they needed to find Benny someone to drink. At this point no matter whom as long as the unlucky person was on the living side of things. She couldn’t offer herself, her blood would burn a hole into Benny’s throat, so maybe a nice Rugaru, shapeshifter or demon with a living meatsuit would do. Fortunately, she hadn’t had to look very long. Two pick-up trucks blocked the road in front of her with five armed men grinning at the prospect of two new victims. Judging by the cars on the side of the road that was kind of their thing, and by the three tied up women kneeling somewhere behind the pick-ups. Kathy shot Benny a look whose eyes were heavy but he managed to scent the air nonetheless.

“Weres,” he mumbled and Kathy huffed.

“Pack of werewolves coming right up,” she said cheerfully and nearly jumped out of the car. One of the wolves grinned at her lewdly and stepped towards her not bothering to threaten her with his rifle.

“What do we got here? Hello little lady. Why don’t we,” he couldn’t continue because Kathy simple rammed her hand into the werewolf’s chest ripping out parts of his lungs, heart and rib cage. The man looked down on himself in disbelief, choked on his blood and dropped to his knees. He wasn’t dead, but he was hors de combat. The other four shared a quick look and all started firing. Whilst it still hurt and made her stumble the shots had little impact on her.

“Silver bullets, hm. Nice touch,” she said lifting her arms balling her fist. The moment she flexed her fingers again dark red flames licked along her arms to her elbow and her eyes, as well as the area around them, started to glow in a dangerous violet. She took a breath and let a burst of red-hot heat erupt from her arms to the four werewolves and sent them flying against their cars, now badly burned. Kathy retrieved one of the guns that had fallen down, checked the magazine and after a little satisfied hum shot two of the weres in the heart. She grabbed the other two by the arm and dragged them effortlessly to the beat up camper Benny and she drove. The vampire had managed to climb out of the car and now leaned against the passenger side door. He barely stayed upright. When she dropped the two bodies in front of him he chuckled.

“You didn’t have to cook for me, sugar” Benny grabbed the first one and unceremoniously sunk his fangs into his throat. He drank fast and greedy and while he did it Kathy watched the gaping wound on Benny’s neck closing itself so fast it made a weird rustling sound. After he drained the first one he seamlessly went to the next, this time he drank a little slower. Kathy shrugged and walked over to the first werewolf. The man was conscious, despite the gaping hole in his chest and stared at her half scared, half angry.

“What are you?” he asked. Kathy didn’t answer. She took his leg instead and pulled him over to Benny. He probably wouldn’t really need a third blood donor, but he wouldn’t turn down a free meal either and anyhow, they didn’t know when he would have another opportunity to feed. Kathy looked down on the two now dead werewolves and put a bullet into each of them for good measure. Not many ordinary monsters could handle the total blood loss of a vampire feeding, but better safe than sorry.

“You good?” she asked Benny who still was drinking and he just hummed in response. Kathy put the gun in his pocket and walked over to the pick-ups to check out if she could scavenge anything useful. She made two piles, one with the stuff they would need, like sleeping bags, the guns and ammo, some cans of food, two duffels with clothes and batteries, and another with useless stuff. Another gunshot split the air and then she heard shuffling of steps behind her. Benny looked over her shoulder into the truck and whistled.

“We should take one of those, drain the gas from the other and the camper,” he drawled and pressed a kiss on her shoulder. “Thanks,” he muttered and Kathy smiled handing him a black shirt.

“Don’t mention it. What about them?” she gestured to the women.

“You should cut them lose, you look less dangerous,” Benny said while he pulled his ripped and bloodstained shirt over his head and discarded it on the ground. Kathy might stare a little when he flexed his muscles and let his neck crack.

“They just saw me gutting a guy and shooting fireballs out of my arms. I bet they think I’m not dangerous at all,” she grinned. “Alright, I’ll do this and you can siphon the cars. And put on the shirt, one of them is a minor.”

Benny gave her a mock salute and Kathy strolled to the three kneeling women, an older with short black hair, a young blonde, and a pale teen. The first two stared at Kathy rather menacing despite the situation while the teenage girl looked mostly spooked. For a second Kathy hesitated, but then she cut them loose. All three jumped up. The older woman pulled the teenager behind her while the blonde went into some sort of fighting stance. It actually was kind of funny.

“What are you?” she pressed out between her teeth in an attempt to sound badass. Kathy was close on adopting her so adorable she found it, and a bit annoying.

“Why thank me, no problem at all, Benjamin and I had nothing else to do,” she smiled. “I am Kathy and what I am, well, is none of your business.”

“Are you going to kill us?” Kathy looked irritated.

“And then untie you why exactly? Sport? Relax, Benny and I grab a car and be out of your hair in no time,” she turned on her heels. She couldn’t blame them to be so defensively aggressive. The new world order meant to eat or get eaten. One ground rule was watching your back, a rule Kathy totally forgot.

“Claire, no!” the older woman yelled. To Kathy’s surprise, she got stabbed. Well, getting stabbed wasn’t that much of a surprise, it was what she got stabbed with. Kathy gasped sharply and dropped to her knees.

“What the,” she groaned. The blonde who stabbed her stumbled away from her, obviously unsure what would happen next. She actually had impaled Kathy right through her chest and she wasn’t dead, hurt and pissed, but not dead. “Benny,” she yelled and the vampire stepped around the car. When he saw the mess he calmly pointed a rifle at the three women and walked to Kathy. His eyes never left the three when he knelt down next to her.

“Get it out!” she groaned.

“You sure? Will hurt like a bitch.”

“No, just let it be stuck, I will get used to it eventually. What the hell do you think? Do it,” Benny grabbed the handle of the blade and pulled it out in one swift motion. Kathy screamed and dropped to the ground panting.

“Holy shit,” she gasped. “Where did you get that? Where did you even hide this? These weres were sloppy,” Kathy’s breath got less labored and the triangle wound in the middle of her chest started to close on its own. Benny who had the rifle still trimmed at the three women gave the sword a look.

“Never seen a sword like that,” he mumbled. Kathy got up using Benny as leverage.

“It’s an angel sword, a Gregori sword. That’s the thanks for saving your asses? Stupid child,” Kathy took the sword from Benny and positioned herself in front of the blonde who made a hesitant step backward. “Claire, right?” she nodded. “You are young and tried to protect your family, but let me tell you this. The next time you encounter someone, or something, you don’t know jack about don’t do something stupid like this again, because the next time you won’t run into someone as nice and friendly as Benny and I and you will end up dead, if you are lucky,” she held the sword towards the girl who took it reluctantly with a pissed of expression. “And cut the attitude. You act like a bratty teenager. This sword isn’t meant for stabbing, that’s why it was stuck. Learn how to swing it. You wanna cut off limbs, heads preferably. She yours?” Kathy nodded to the older woman. She actually didn’t really look like she could have a daughter in her early twenties, but who was Kathy to judge. She wasn’t looking like a couple of millennia either, the 231 years in purgatory not even included. The woman nodded.

“Good luck with that,” Kathy said and walked, backward this time, to the car. “Come on Benny, let’s get out of here,” she already climbed into the passenger seat when the woman called out for her.

“Wait,” Kathy and Benny turned to her. “Uhm, thanks, you know. For saving us, and for not killing us, I guess. My name is Jody, Jody Mills, this is Alex and well, you met Claire,” Kathy looked unimpressed at the introduction, Benny on the other hand suddenly frowned deeply and fixed the woman with his cornflower blue eyes.

“Jody Mills from Sioux Falls, South Dakota?” he asked to the surprise of everybody. Jody wasn’t answering.

“Did you memorize telephone books the last time you were topside?” Kathy asked and Benny rolled his eyes.

“How do you even know about telephone books,” he shot back. Jody chose the moment to say something.

“How do you know me?”

“I don’t, but Dean Winchester does. I have to ask because he told a lot of weird stories, but where there really zombies?” Kathy looked at him like he had grown another head. Claire scoffed.

“Yeah, like Dean Winchester is sitting down with a vamp sharing stories, nice try asshat,” Benny shared a look with Kathy who mouthed _Asshat?_ with a raised eyebrow. Benny just shrugged.

“Ain’t much to do in purgatory.”

“So you two are like buddies?” Alex who spoke for the first time asked.

“Good buddies,” Benny replied.

“You are a vampire, you drink blood,” she stated like this was some kind of breaking news.

“Only good thing on the mess we are into, I can drink all kind of things now as long as it got a pulse. Haven’t drunk a human in a long while,” he shot Kathy a look to shut up about earlier and the nutjob with the machete. He had it coming and Benny wasn’t exactly in his right mind at this point. The guy wasn’t counting.

“So what now? You two are like friendly monsters?” Claire asked like she didn’t believe it no matter what.

“Benny is a friendly monster. He doesn’t drink people. I’m just a monster and maybe a bad person, but seriously I don’t need to be monstrous. I don’t need anybody liquids to survive or to eat flesh or whatever. I don’t have a reason per se to hurt or kill humans. That is just not my nature. Give me a reason, though.”

“Oh yeah? What are you then?” Claire asked aggressively.

“It’s rude to ask that.”

“She’s a phoenix,” Benny said with an eye-roll. Kathy glared at him. “What? Is there a reason to keep it secret? Did you want to reveal it in a dramatic situation? She has wings and all, quite a sight,” Benny suddenly was on the receiving end of a slap on the back of his head, but he grinned. The three women were irritated.

“So you crumble to ashes after someone kills you and rise again?” Jody asked and Kathy smirked.

“You don’t have the means to kill me, but yes and no. Depends what you are killing me with. So, guys, this was nice and all, but Benny and I have to go now. Farewell, and good luck,” she closed the door of the car and leaned back in the seat waiting for Benny. The vampire hesitated for a second.

“You heard anything? From Dean?” he finally asked honest concern in his voice. 8 months ago tracking down Dean had been a priority but turns out a vampire from the 1920’s and a Phoenix from pre-Victorian England weren’t really good at this. When Kathy had been able to wrap her head around the idea of the phone the communication broke down. At some extent Benny and Kathy were better prepared to deal with a world without energy, communication, and intact infrastructure, so no big deal after all. But that also meant to find Dean was kind of impossible. Until now. The three women shared a weird look. Benny didn’t know the history but Claire and Jody seemed genuinely surprised it was Alex spilling the beans, to a vampire of all people.

“He and Sam have a place in Kansas, a safe place. We were on our way there when we got separated a couple of days ago. We figured we just keep moving. We hope to run into them or meet up with them there. You can come, too,” she somehow tagged along. Benny frowned while Jody and Claire started to talk all at once. Benny shot Kathy a look who had closed her eyes. She always pretended to be strong and invincible, but the angel sword had taken a number on her.

“You can’t be serious,” was the first sentence Benny made out loud and clear.

“Think about it. Ever since we left Sioux Falls we ran into one trouble after the other. You ever saw what a vampire can do despite ripping out throats? They can smell people from miles away, they are fast, they are strong, they are hard to kill, this one’s smart, and he says he’s Dean’s friend,” Benny tried not to look offended to be called this one. “And whatever she can do? You saw her going through these werewolves like they were nothing,” she turned to Benny. “You want to find Dean, right? Well stick with us and you probably will and in return you get us to Kansas. It’s a win-win.”

Benny stared at her, basically, everyone was staring. After a while he harrumphed.

“Let me talk it over with the Missus,” he finally said.


	2. Chapter 2

“That is a bad idea,” Kathy just said with arms crossed in front of her chest. She had changed into a black sweater she had found in the duffel bag since her top had been quite destroyed by bullets and the angel sword. “Look, I know that you want to find Dean, but seriously. They need to sleep, they need to eat, they are intact human beings, and they will draw attention. They will slow us down. Just ask where this “safe place” is and we head there on our own,” Benny pressed his lips together and Kathy sighed. “Well okay, this isn’t happening, obviously. I don’t want to be the personal bodyguard of three people I don’t even know. One just tried to kill me. This sword can take off your head no problem.”

“Then we take the sword.”

“I got the distinct impression we are doing this no matter what I am saying,” Kathy sighed and Benny smirked. “You are lucky you are pretty,” she mumbled.

“Aw, sugar. You think I’m pretty?” she huffed a laugh.

“Shut up.”

The next hour Kathy glared at the three women packing up the other pick-up with supplies out of their trashed station wagon while Benny marched the other vehicles dutifully collecting all the gas. They ended up with three full cans. Not bad but between two cars not enough to get them to Kansas. There were only three hours of daylight left which meant they had to find a place to hunker down for the night and it was September, so a warm place, preferably with a roof. Bloody humans and their fragile bodies. The only reason Kathy agreed to this was that she knew what Dean meant to Benny. When the human was in purgatory even Kathy heard the news about a vampire with an escape plan giving him the tour and a way out, but she hadn’t cared. Imagine her surprise when she ran into the vamp helping the human out of purgatory. What were the odds? Benny was loyal to him, even after he ended their friendship. This was Benny for you. She probably would hit this brother of Dean in the face, though, from what she heard about him when they would find them eventually. Two hours later Kathy and Benny stood in front of a deserted off the road gas station. While Benny scented the air Kathy gave the ramshackle building a good once over. There wasn’t any more gas left, but it didn’t look like the building would collapse on top of them. Benny nodded and Kathy opened the door. It was dirty and pretty much in chaos but it was dry and relatively warm. And empty except for a couple of rats.

Jody and the girls set up a small bedding area in a corner behind the counter. A good place, away from prying eyes through the dirty window. Benny and Kathy didn’t have to sleep, but since they had to stay here the night they might as well get comfortable, too. Using two sleeping bags as bolster they chose a place far away enough from the three to give them some privacy, but close enough to jump in when something went south. Benny dropped to the ground with a sigh and pulled Kathy down with him. She settled between his legs with her back against his chest. He put his arms around her.

“Stop pouting,” he mumbled against her temple. Claire shot them a strange look but Kathy ignored her.

“I’m not pouting,” she said with a smile. Jody and the girls didn’t dare to start a fire and so Benny and Kathy got a great look on three people gulping down cold canned spaghetti O’s. After five minutes Kathy couldn’t take it anymore. “Excuse me,” she said and got up. She hovered a couple of seconds over the little group of women until she had everyone’s undivided attention. She sighed and made grabby hands to the closest in front of her, Alex.

“Gimme that,” she said and Alex frowned.

“Why?” Kathy rolled her eyes.

“Because I want to poison you,” her voice dripped from sarcasm. Alex handed her the can. “The spoon, too,” Alex obeyed. Kathy put the can onto her left palm and started stirring the unappetizing reddish content. Soon enough the noodles boiled.

“Careful, it’s hot,” Kathy mumbled. She handed Alex the can who took it with her scarf and mumbled a thank you. Kathy did the other two and walked over to Benny again. The vampire smirked at her.

“Someone’s feeling charitable today.”

“I can be nice on occasion.”

“I always assumed you were.”

“I was. Nicer than most. Didn’t stop the British Man of Letters from killing me,” she mumbled.

“I’m pretty sure they are all dead now if this is any consolation.”

“It kind of is, actually. What do you think about our new friends?”

“Jody seems composed, the girls are scared. Claire might become a problem.”

“Meaning?”

“She has no idea what she is doing, doesn’t stop her from acting on her hunches. If this sword would have worked on you I might have killed them just because,” she looked at him.

“You have strange ways of showing love, Benjamin.”

“You want me to take you onto a chaste stroll through the garden? Court you like a proper lady? Ask your father for your hand?” he chuckled. She scoffed.

“I never was that fancy. You read too much Charles Dickens by the way. I kind of miss the dresses, though. Jeans feel weird on the legs. What you think will happen after we find Dean?” Benny stayed silent for a long while. The room got darker and the three women lay down to sleep.

“I honestly don’t know. I kind of hope he is happy to see me and not trying to kill us.”

“You wanna stick around if he doesn’t?”

“I doubt he would want that.”

“We get along pretty well on our own,” she said into the silence that followed his words.

“That we do,” Benny smiled.

The night was uneventful. Short before dawn something inhuman scooped the place out but showed no real interest. Benny and Kathy didn’t even bother to check what it was. Kathy kicked Jody’s backpack to wake the women up. None of them seemed to be morning persons.

“We ditch one truck. Saves fuel. Benny thinks we will make it to Missouri with what we have. He hopes to scavenge some more along the road. So prepare to cuddle on the backseat,” Claire glared at her.

“Why don’t you and your vamp lover cuddle,” Kathy glared right back at her until the girl's eyes went down on the floor.

“Wow. Okay, listen. I don’t like this, and I don’t like you. I don’t know what kind of angry teenager crap is going on with you but you have to cut it. I don’t want to ride in a truck with you either, because between you and me? You humans reek and you are annoying. So why don’t you try to be a good kid and let the grown-ups do all the heavy lifting and in return you keep your pretty mouth shut,” while she talked she had come closer to Claire effectively backing her against a wall. She turned around and walked away and Claire let out a breath that she was holding.

“Pack the goddamn truck. I go and find me something to eat. Give me an hour,” she said to Benny who watched her leaving with a solemn expression. He caught Jody staring at him and smirked.

“She shouldn’t talk to the girls like that,” Jody said and Benny shrugged.

“She isn’t used to people, is all. Purgatory does that to somebody. Besides, she has a point.”

“What does she eat?” Alex asked and Benny grinned.

“You really don’t wanna know.”

A couple of hours later they rolled along a stretch of the interstate that was actually free from debris and abandoned cars. Benny hummed a tune from his time on the sea and Kathy found herself in the center of Alex sudden interest in phoenixes.

“How old are you?”

“Let’s say I was a thing in the dark since before your kind started domesticating the wolf.”

“When you went out earlier, what did you eat?” Benny smiled and Kathy shot him a look. She answered anyways.

“Doesn’t matter as long as it’s burned to crisp. It was a rabbit, though.”

“So like the dragons in Game of Thrones?” she frowned.

“I don’t know what that is, but as far as I know dragons eat the hearts of virgins.”

“Lovely,” Benny hummed. Alex and Claire looked surprised.

“There really are dragons?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow,” that shut up Alex for a while, at least for 10 minutes.

“Okay, so when somebody kills you, you just regenerate back?” Kathy rolled her eyes.

“Something like that, yes.”

“Do you look different after? Like Dr. Who?” Kathy looked puzzled, again.

“That’s a British T.V. show about an alien that can travel through time and space and who changes into someone else when he gets wounded fatally,” Benny added helpfully.

“How do you know that?” Benny shrugged.

“It was running when I got killed the first time. I watched it. Kind of strange you kids nowadays watch old stuff like that. Has to be black and white.”

“They rebooted it,” Claire said. “When did you get killed?”

“1969.”

“And you?” Alex asked Kathy.

“1786.”

“Wow, that’s a long time ago. You don’t sound like someone from the late 18th century,” Alex stated.

“How do you think someone from the 18th century is supposed to sound?”

“I don’t know, like in a Jane Austen novel?” Benny had to chuckle on that.

“I catch up quick. You kinda have to if you hang around people for over 9 millennia.”

“But someone killed you eventually, right? That’s how you ended up in purgatory?” Kathy sighed.

“Yes, with the right tools and timing you can kill me for good. And that’s how I ended up in purgatory.”

“Did you meet Benny there?”

“No. I kept to myself. Things as old as I tend to be left alone down there.”

“So where did you meet? Ashley Madison dot com?” Claire asked with a grin. Now both Kathy and Benny looked puzzled. Jody rolled her eyes.

“That was a dating website, a very special one. Like if you look for someone to cheat on your wife with,” Kathy frowned.

“Humans, man,” she shook her head.

“Why did someone made all the effort to find the right tool and the right timing to kill you if you are a friendly monster?” Claire asked with some menace in her voice. Kathy turned around and stared at her. She didn’t like the question and she didn’t like to be reminded of being killed. She hadn’t done anything and suddenly four men in fancy attire had ambushed her and had killed her with Caliburn and a spell. She was genuinely surprised since this piece of Arthurian mythology had been lost centuries ago. Phoenixes and dragons were closer related than one might think, although Kathy hated to be reminded of that.

“There was a group in England, some kind of secret society that made it its goal to get rid of everything that was not human. They didn’t mind if I do or don’t anything, they just killed me because. I'm not even sure they really knew what I was, they got tipped off. Some bloody demon that saved his hide by giving me to them,” she murmured. Benny who knew the story looked at her sympathizing.

“The British Men of Letters?” Jody asked and Kathy’s eyes snapped to her.

“How do you know?” Jody flinched at the harsh tone.

“Sam and Dean work with some of them,” she said carefully. Kathy made a grumpy sound and let herself drop into the seat.

“That’s just great,” she mumbled. Benny squeezed her knee.

“I’m pretty sure they don’t have a dragon blood forged sword lying around,” he said soft enough that the three women behind him wouldn’t hear him.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” she said and stared out of the window. Everyone was quiet now. After another 30 minutes, Benny stopped the car because a group of three people sat in the middle of the road. They were hunched over a couple of dead bodies, feeding on them. The three women tensed and Kathy looked at Benny who scented the air. One of the people got up slowly and stared right back at them.

“That’s just Ghouls,” Benny said. “If we leave them be they leave us be. They feed on the dead, they rarely kill,” he stated and showed the one staring at them his fangs. The Ghoul kind of nodded and the other two stood up slowly and stepped aside. Benny was about to restart the car when Jody yelled “Wait!” into his ear.

“What?” he yelled back. He had enhanced hearing, the yell really hurt.

“One of them is Martin. He, he was with Sam and Dean when we got separated. He’s a hunter like them. I don’t understand,” Jody stumbled over her own word. Kathy and Benny shared a look.

“You are no hunters, aren’t you? Hate to break it to you, but it means Martin is dead. The ghoul fed from him and took his form. I’m sorry,” Kathy said. Jody looked at her.

“But how did this happen?” Kathy shrugged and looked to Benny who nodded in agreement.

“I go and ask him,” she said and climbed out of the truck. Benny followed her.

“Stay in the car,” he said sternly. Kathy had walked over to the ghouls who eyed her warily and had stopped a couple of feet away from them.

“Hey,” she said. They didn’t answer. They just stood and stared. Ghouls were mighty perceptive, they probably knew what she was and that they didn’t stand a chance. “I don’t wanna cause you any trouble, I just wanna ask you,” she pointed at the one with Martin’s form. “Some questions. You answer truthfully and we are out of your hair in no time, deal?” The ghouls looked at each other, and then they nodded.

“Right, okay. The guy whose face you wearing, how did he die, when and where?”

“He was gutted by a group of vampires two days ago. We found his body on a lake 10, 12 miles south from here down the interstate,” the Martin-ghoul said.

“Were there people with him? Two men, brothers?” Benny asked and the ghoul pulled a face.

“Yes, the famous Winchesters. They were still alive when he died. They weren’t there when we found the body,” he said.

“Okay, good. Thanks, well. Enjoy your meal. And, uhm, maybe think about getting a new face, this one’s upsetting people,” Kathy said and walked away backward a couple of steps then she turned around. She had learned her lesson yesterday. She faced all three women standing outside the truck.

“I told you not to,” Benny started when a large dark figure shot out of the sky and dropped down on Alex. The girl screamed and everybody else just stared and tried to make sense out of the scene. It looked like a large hairy reptile with an oblong muzzle, a long scaled tail, strong arms and legs with sharp talons and claws and large dermal wings. Benny and Kathy got out of their funks first.

“Benny,” Kathy just yelled and the vampire shot forward and tackled the beast from the girl. They tumbled away from Alex in a pile of angry vamp and dermal wings. Benny pushed it away with his leg just in time before the thing could gut him with one of its sharp talons.

“Get in the car,” Kathy ordered Jody who dragged Alex to her feet and pushed Claire in the pick-up. They pulled the door shut and locked it. Meanwhile, Benny emptied the whole clip of silver bullets into the thing. It recoiled back with every hit, but otherwise, it didn’t seem harmed. It started to get up in the air again, gathering itself for another attack. Kathy pulled Benny to his feet and shot a ball of blazing heat at the thing. She missed.

“What the hell is that?” Benny asked, pulling out his machete. Kathy gave the sharp knife a short look.

“That won’t work. That’s an Aswang. You need to have a special whip to kill it,” Benny sighed.

“Of course you do,” they followed the Aswang with their eyes and watched it gathering height. “Get ready,” Benny mumbled as the thing charged. “Anytime now,” he hissed impatiently when the flying beast came closer faster and faster. Kathy shot another wave of heat, wider this time, and this time she didn’t miss. She singed part of the left wing and the Aswang lost his balance, crashed hard onto the ground. Kathy and Benny had to jump away not to get hit when it collided with the pick-up, making it shake violently and crashing all of the windows in the process. The Aswang got up again and shook his head to clear the haze. All the time it didn’t make any sound whatsoever. It turned and hit Benny hard in the stomach with his tail sending the vampire flying for a handful of feet. Benny groaned. He was out for a minute. It turned to Kathy, charged and jumped onto her chest knocking her hard on the back. With two swift moves, it cut two deep gashes into Kathy’s chest straight through three layers of canvas, sweater, and top. Kathy screamed in pain when talons cut through her rips basically leaving her thorax wide open. The beast lost interest on her now that she was knocked out obviously knowing that she was not human. It showed no interest in the ghouls who stood around doing nothing either. It sort of waddled on all fours to the car using his wings for support and tried to drag the first woman it could get its paws on, Claire, out of it. The blonde screamed, kicked and did everything to defend herself, but the Aswang was stronger. It grabbed her by a shoulder, piercing deep into the flesh. Claire screamed in agony. Kathy stumbled to her feet. The shallower cut was basically healed already, but the deeper still bled through her clothes. She breathed heavily. It hurt like a bitch. The Aswang rose into the sky quick, carrying the still screaming girl effortlessly further and further away.

“Shit,” she said and ripped her jacket and her sweater off of her and started running. The flames suddenly engulfing her body scorched the other clothes away quickly. It felt like her back was ripped open, a pain familiar, but unwelcome, despite all the centuries of experience. She could hear somebody yell “Holy shit” when she spread her wings, dark red, interlaced with gold, yellow, silver and orange. They spread wide, over 8 feet in each direction and she experimentally beat them two times before she shot up in the sky faster and easier one might imagine. She hit the Aswangs body hard. The beast dropped down towards the ground still gripping Claire tight and tried to shake her off from it. Kathy swung herself onto his back, holding both wings tight and pulled the thing in a direction she wanted with strong beats of her wings.

“What’s she doing,” Alex screamed and Benny whose eyes were fixed onto the spectacle above them like anybody else’s needed a minute to process the question.

“She can’t touch her. She would burn her. She’s trying to get the thing to drop her,” he mumbled. Kathy had managed to maneuver the Aswang and its prey above a little group of feathery bushes, but they were still too high not to hurt Claire substantially. The girl just dangled lifelessly into the Aswang’s grip. Benny hoped she was just unconscious. Kathy pulled her wings close to her body and the group fell down hard and fast. Just before they would crash into the bushes two strong beats of her wings stopped them. She let go of one of the Aswang’s wings and grabbed the leg in was holding Claire with. It started to burn immediately. The first time the whole mess started the Aswang made a sound, a high pitched scream that made everyone cover their ears. It let Claire go. Jody started to run the moment Claire disappeared into the woodwork. Benny couldn’t stop her, but he grabbed Alex before she could make a run for Claire, too.

“It’s not over, yet,” he yelled and Alex kind of settled into Benny’s grip. Now with one wing free and without holding Claire, the Aswang tried to fight back. He turned around pushing Kathy away and attacked her forcefully with all sharped clawed phalanges it had. Benny could see how the sharp talons on his hands dug deep in the flesh of Kathy’s flanks while the claws on his feet left deep cuts in her thighs. Everywhere he opened her body up it glowed from the fire inside. Kathy definitely was in a lot of pain and not at her strongest, but she grabbed the Aswang by the neck and gathered height. When she was 50, maybe 55 feet above the ground she closed her hands around his throat and started to char her way through the neck. The beast screamed again, a long wail that suddenly turned into a gurgle. The beats of his dermal wings got weaker and weaker and stopped when the head of the Aswang lolled to one side until it fell off. It landed not far from Benny and Alex on the ground and made them jump, followed by its limp and lifeless body. Kathy was still in the air, but the beats of her wings were erratic. She didn’t really land, she more or less crashed down in a ball of fire burning a crater into the ground. Benny knew better than to rush to her right now, he would only scold himself. She would need a couple of minutes to cool down, literally. And she would need clothes. He stared at the dead Aswang.

“We should check on Claire,” he proposed and Alex nodded anxiously. She looked a bit like she was in shock. Benny suddenly realized that they weren’t alone anymore. He swirled around and put himself between Alex and the new arrivals. It was a blonde woman in Jeans, plaid and a tan canvas jacket and a tall dark-haired guy with surprisingly clean and crisp black clothes and folded hands over his lap. The blonde pointed a weird looking gun on him.

“Quite a show,” the man said with a smooth British accent. “Now please, step away from the girl, vampire,” Benny frowned but did what he was told. Without any provocation, the woman pulled the trigger. The only reason the tranq dart filled with the Man of Letters shit didn’t hit him was that a very tall man shoved her aside the last second yelling “Mom, no!”. Out of nowhere, Benny stood face to face with Sam Winchester, and the man showed a lot of strange emotions in his face. If Benny wouldn’t know it better he was happy to see him. To Benny’s surprise, the younger Winchester walked to him with long strides and pulled him in a hug. That was the last thing Benny would have expected and he padded Sam’s back awkwardly.

“Dean was looking for you,” Sam stated. Then he turned to Alex. “You okay?” the girl nodded. Sam looked over to his mother (and Benny thought _Mom?_ _What the actual fuck_ to that). “Go and check on Claire, Mom.”

“Sam, that’s a vampire,” she stated and Sam rolled with his eyes.

“I know. He’s a friend. Now go. You have all the first aid stuff. She’s possibly hurt badly.”

“But,” he interrupted her.

“We don’t have time for this. I’ll explain later. Now go,” the woman walked away reluctantly taking Alex with her putting a protective arm over her shoulder. Alex glanced back at Benny worried. He had to smile.

“You Winchesters never cease to amaze me. Benjamin Lafitte, I presume? Name’s Arthur Ketch,” he held out his hand and Benny just glared down on it.

“I don’t care,” he said.

“Benny, what the hell was that?” Sam asked and pointed at the dead Aswang.

“Well, that was an Aswang and the other one was a phoenix. Is a phoenix, hopefully,” Benny turned to the direction Kathy lay in a crater of her own making and froze. Dean and another man who, Benny wasn’t quite sure, was Cas closed in on her.

“Shit,” he started running. “Dean, no!” he yelled and both turned. The surprise in Dean’s face was nearly comical.

“Benny?”

“Get away from there. It’s not safe, not now!” Dean shared a quick look with (indeed) Cas, but they stopped. Both made hesitant steps down the little rim of the crater when they both twirled back guns raised. Kathy was stumbling on her feet, naked, dirty and still badly hurt, and very confused. With a flick of her hand, she sent Cas flying and Benny just hoped he still had some mojo left to heal the probably third-degree burning. The couple of fallen angels they had encountered so far couldn’t fly anymore but still, heal. So, fingers crossed. Dean shot her. Usually, it wouldn’t hurt her much, but in the last two days Kathy had taken one blow too many and Dean was a crack shot, and this wasn’t an ordinary gun. He hit her right into the forehead. Benny had seen her die once before, but that didn’t make it any easier to watch. Her whole body went rigid than she dropped down on her knees. Her hands crumbled first. Just turned black and fell to pieces. The process wandered up her arms, down her shoulders and torso. The last thing that charred away was her face with her eyes staring at Dean in some sort of silent admonition and then everything that was left from her was a pile of ashes. Benny palmed his face cursing in French, rather creatively if Dean would speak the language. Hitting his best friend in the face the moment he would meet him wasn’t how Benny imagined it, but that was exactly what happened. Dean stumbled back. The vampire threw a hard punch. Judging by the commotion behind them everyone was now on their way to them. Just great.

“Benny, what the hell,” Dean started but Benny interrupted him.

“She saved your little friends’ bacon, the second time by the way, and nearly got herself killed doing that, and you had to fucking shoot her? What were you thinking?” Benny yelled and Dean got defensive.

“She attacked Cas,” Dean turned to the angel in question who indeed had healed himself. He swayed a little.

“Benny,” he just said in his gravelly voice. It was weird to see him not wearing his trenchcoat. Dean faced another attack, this time by Alex who slapped him hard in the face.

“What did you do” She saved us, they both did and you killed her,” she turned to Benny with frantic eyes. “She will come back, though, right? She said so,” Alex nearly begged. Mr. Ketch, who eyed the pile of ashes curiously huffed a little laugh.

“Well, child, that a phoenix rises from its ashes is a myth. The Colt killed her for good,” Alex stared at him and then at Benny, obviously incredulous that Benny and she had lied to her. Benny on the other side looked just smug. Mr. Ketch raised an eyebrow.

“Unless,” he said softly. His eyes wandered between the ashes and Benny who rolled up the sleeves of his jacket, but then seemed to change his mind. “Ooohhh,” Mr. Ketch just said and Benny mocked him.

“Yes, ooohh,” he grabbed Dean and pulled him towards the ashes. Dean didn’t even fight. Mr. Ketch put an arm in front of Mary who wanted to stop Benny. Benny pulled out a knife, took Dean's arm and cut deep into his palm.

“What the fuck, Benny? Are you crazy?” Dean cursed and tried to pull away from his hand, but Benny held him in an iron grip. Dean stood no chance to the strength of a well-fed vampire.

“Do that and we’re even,” he growled and Dean went still. The moment the first drops of blood touched the ashes they started to somehow melt into a pool of tarry black liquid. Benny put away the knife and pulled Dean away from the pool that got bigger until it nearly filled the little crater.

“We should step away a bit,” Benny mumbled. Nothing happened for a while until the black pool started to move a little. Nothing major, just little waves like something moved under the surface. Everyone jumped except Benny when a hand shot out of the pool and tried to find leverage in the loose dirt. The second hand followed and both groped around until they found a loose root.

“Should we help her?” Castiel asked hesitantly. Benny shook his head.

“That wouldn’t be wise, she might pull you in there,” he said.

“But that’s impossible,” Mary whispered. “It’s a myth,” Kathy pulled herself out of the tar, her black hair clung to her head, her eyes shone in bright inhuman purple with a little yellow in the middle.

“Every myth starts somewhere,” Benny mumbled. Kathy heavily fell down. She panted hard and started to crawl out even further until her knees hit solid ground. Her whole body shook in a coughing fit. She got up on hands and knees.

“A little privacy would be nice,” she pressed out and Benny glared at everybody. He started to get out of his jacket when Sam handed him his flannel. Benny stared at it for a second, then he took it with a nod. Sam obviously tried to pay reparations and Benny would let him.

“Fascinating,” Mr. Ketch said and Benny just answered with a shrug. He climbed down to her and helped her up and into Sam’s shirt. It looked like a dress on her. She swayed and leaned heavily against Benny.

“Friends of yours?” she asked in a raspy voice when she glared at Dean who managed to look a bit apologetic.

“Some of them,” he said.

“Great, I think I’m gonna pass out now,” she stated and indeed her knees buckled. Benny lifted her up easily bridal style and cradled her in his arms. He ignored Dean’s efforts to help him up the little slope and carried her to the pick-up. The ghouls were still there, taking bits out of the dead Aswang.

“Get lost,” Benny ordered and they ran off quickly. He lowered her down on the bed of the pick-up next to Jody who was bandaging Claire’s shoulder. The girl looked shaken and a bit beat up but otherwise fine.

“You okay?” Benny asked. Kathy groaned and rolled herself into a ball.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks. What’s with her?”

“Nothing, Dean the idiot shot her with the colt. Did you know that there are only five things in creation that thing cannot kill? Good thing she’s one of them,” Benny got turned around forcefully by Mary Winchester who held a knife to his throat.

“This is not a phoenix. What the hell is she? Who are you?” she demanded to know and Benny was close on losing his patience.

“Lady, I don’t even know who you are, but I swear, you don’t take that knife away from me I will make you,” he growled.

“I want to see you try,” she answered. Benny rolled his eyes. He hadn’t spent over 50 years in purgatory for nothing. He twirled her around, hitting her upper body hard onto the bed of the truck, twisted her arm behind her back and took the knife away effortlessly. Then he pulled her back up and shoved her into the arms of Dean. Mary looked surprised. The strange Mr. Ketch looked amused.

“Well, we are quietly agitated after the afternoon's events, aren’t we? No need to become violent now. I assume you know about her…speciation Mr. Lafitte?” Benny only shook his head to all the Britishness in Mr. Ketch’s voice.

“’Course I do, but by all means, enlighten everyone,” he said sarcastically, already rummaging around in a duffel bag for more clothes. “You should have taken off your shoes,” he scolded her and Kathy huffed a weak laugh.

“I was kind on a timeline. So the Brit thinks he knows what I am? You the British Man of Letter Jody talked about?”

“Indeed I am. There are rumors that one and only one phoenix had the ability to rise from the ashes. The oldest of them, the purest,” he stated and Dean frowned. He looked over Benny’s shoulder at Kathy.

“You’re the Alpha? Seriously? Well, you are not the first Alpha we encounter lady, but you sure are the prettiest,” both Benny and Kathy glared at him. “Okay, sorry. Too early, huh?” he mumbled and walked to Sam pulling a face.

“Why only you and not the others?” Sam asked.

“Mother didn’t like the idea of an army of unkillable children. Look, I will gladly answer all your questions, but not now. Benny?” she made a waving gesture with her hand and snuggled into Benny’s jacket.

“Right,” he said. “Let’s get you cleaned up and some food in you.”

“Can we do something to help?” Dean offered. Mary Winchester started to say something, but Dean cut her off. “Mary, not now. Benny?” Benny sighed and shot Kathy a look.

“You’ve done enough. Just take your friends and leave us alone,” Benny felt a bit of his dead heart break.

“Benny, come on, we set up camp in an abandoned warehouse two miles from here. It’s warded from the most critters. She can rest, we figure things out,” Sam pleaded the case.

“I can’t believe you’re proposing this. Sam, that’s a vampire, you can’t trust vampires,” Dean glared at his mother.

“We already work with a demon, a witch, couple of angels and a pack of werewolves. I take my chances with a vampire I actually trust more than you, and his alpha phoenix girlfriend. So,” he looked at Benny. “What you guys say.”

“I don’t know Dean,” Benny rubbed his beard.

“I’m sorry I shot her, okay?”

“That’s actually not it.”

“So what is it?” Sam asked. Claire, Jody, and Alex stayed quiet, but by the look of it, they wanted Benny and Kathy to come with them as well. Benny stayed silent. Kathy heaved herself up into a sitting position and put one slender arm around Benny’s chest and pulled him closer. She whispered something into his ear. His eyes flicked from Dean to Sam and stayed on Mary for a second.

“Alright,” he said and Dean beamed happily.


	3. Chapter 3

Kathy wasn’t sleeping, but she was curled up in a sleeping bag next to Benny. She was clean, dressed in some spare clothes, had eaten something questionable she had burned to resemble a piece of charcoal out of a can and was now resting. She was well aware that Benny was keeping watch and was just pretending to stare into the fire, he stared at Mary Winchester. He ignored Dean hovering for a while, but finally, he turned his cornflower blue eyes at him.

“Can we talk?” Dean asked and Benny sighed.

“Not now.”

“Just go. When she tries something I can handle her,” Kathy mumbled from somewhere under the sleeping bag. Benny sighed another time.

“Well, alright,” Benny said and got up. Dean nodded to Sam who nodded back and took Benny place next to her. Benny had to chuckle when he heard Kathy mumble that she wasn’t a damsel in distress who needed a chaperone.

“So,” Benny started. Dean interrupted him.

“Look man, can we pretend for a second no one tried to kill nobody and just do this?” he asked and Benny had to chuckle.

“Alright,” Benny found himself in the middle of a Winchester hug. Dean clapped him on the shoulder.

“You look good man. How have you been?” Dean asked and Benny shrugged.

“Good, plenty of critters to feed on, badass alpha phoenix to keep an eye on me. What’s new with Dean Winchester? Last time we talked your mother was dead, now she is here, pretty much alive, looking younger than me,” Benny said.

“It’s complicated,” Dean started. Benny rolled his eyes.

“Don’t give me that shit again Dean.”

“What you mean?”

“What I mean? I mean you doing this again. Let bits and pieces drop and I have to fill the blanks on my own. I barely knew how you got into purgatory or what was Sam doing there in the first place. I knew you started and stopped the apocalypse, like three times, but that’s about it. Now I know that you hang out with your long-dead mother who you call Mary and who acts like a homicidal maniac.”

“I wouldn’t put it like that.”

“Dean, she tried to dose me with that Man of Letters shit that will poison my blood after like two seconds she saw me. Right after Kathy killed that Aswang thing. That means she knew I was a vampire, which means she saw my fangs, which means both of them saw me and Kathy protecting your friends.”

“She did?”

“Yes,” Dean rubbed his face with a sigh.

“I’m sorry about that, man. She,” he sighed. “She was brought back by the Darkness. That’s…how do I tell you this. When Sam went through three biblical trials to close the gates of hell, like forever, we accidentally let a powerful demon run, a knight of hell. We tried to stop her, but man that bitch was a handful. So I and another demon were looking for a way to kill her and we ran into Cain. Like the actual bible guy. Turns out he was a demon, too, like the first demon there was and he transferred something from him to me, a mark. It allowed me to kill the big shot demon, but it did something to me. It was a curse and it wanted blood, it wanted me to kill and I slipped more and more onto the dark side. Sam found a way to remove it with the help of a witch but turned out the mark was there for a reason. It was a lock God himself had given Lucifer of all people to keep his sister away, the Darkness. Well, we released her, because that’s what we do, replacing one evil with another, bigger, harder to kill one, and she threatened to fuck up the entire creation. I somehow managed to talk her out of it and to reconcile with her brother, God, and she was super thankful and gave me back “what I wanted most.” Yeah, my happiness about my mother being back didn’t last long, cause she lied and manipulated us to work with the British Man of Letters, because she said this was “the better way”. A world without monsters. Sounded great in the sales pitch. Look what it got us into. Oh and I killed Death and Hitler and I was a demon for three months,” he said sarcastically. Benny stared at him.

“There is an actual God?”

“Yeah, his name is Chuck. He writes books,” Benny nodded.

“Obviously. And he has a sister.”

“Yes, the darkness or Amara.”

“Of course,” Benny started to circle Dean counter clockwise the way Dean had circled him. “What do you mean with look what it got us into?”

“This,” Dean gestured around. “The whole every monster, angel, demon from every alternate realm, plane of existence and pocket dimension roaming the green meadows of earth was a spell going wrong. Three Brits and my mother killed the world faster and more effective than Sam and I could ever do, even if we have tried. They cleared parts of the fairy dimension. Ever fought against hobgoblins? Super fun.”

“I never met a fae,” Benny said. He tried to wrap his head around what he had heard. “Let me guess, it was a spell that was supposed _to send_ every monster, angel, and demon into their alternate realm, plane of existence and pocket dimension and close the door behind them but the spell turned out wrong?”

“Something like that. When Sam and I found out what she was planning we tried to stop them. They wouldn’t listen and here we are,” Benny thought about it for a bit and then he started to laugh. Dean looked at him puzzled. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, it’s just, something impossible happens, something that isn’t supposed to happen and who is in the middle of everything? Sam and Dean Winchester,” Dean rubbed the back of his head and smirked.

“It got you out of purgatory, didn’t it?”

“That it did.”

“Got you a girlfriend out of it, too,” Benny shot him a look. “She is cool, though, is she? I mean she won’t burn us all to a crisp? Does she hold grudges? I really didn’t mean to shot her. It was kind of a reflex.”

“Naw, I think she won’t mind. She’s old Dean, she has found Zen or something. But honestly, if you want us to hang around keep an eye on your mother or that Brit. She will kill them if she has to,” Dean pressed his lips together, but he nodded.

“I and Sam both. Look, it would be good to have you around. We have a place in Lebanon, Kansas. We build like a refugee camp around our hub. Lots of humans, couple of other things. The other things keep the place safe mostly. It’s not like you would be just muscle or something. You know things, you can do things and honestly, I couldn’t even imagine what she could do. I mean have you seen that? She as actual wings. And how she handled that thing was awesome. What was that by the way? The thing with the tail and the batwings?”

“An Aswang.”

“What is that?”

“I have no idea, but apparently you can kill it with a magic whip.”

“Huh, or burn of his head, I guess.”

“Yeah, burning of the head is kind of the soft spot of a lot of things.”

“Yeah, but wood chipper beats everything,” Dean smirked.

~

Kathy turned her back to Sam who was fidgeting around obviously eager to ask her something. She heard the whole talk between Dean and Benny, monster hearing, a curse and a gift, and boy the things she heard. Rumors about the Winchesters even reached her in purgatory, but who would have thought that any of it was actually true. Instead of facing Sam now she faced Claire. Kathy sighed and pushed the sleeping bag off her face.

“Okay, what?” she asked rather briskly. Claire looked down on her.

“I just want to say thank you, you know. For saving me,” Claire mumbled while peeling on her shoe. Kathy could tell it was hard for her to admit that. She got in a sitting position.

“Don’t mention it. I do love a challenge,” Claire chuckled.  

“What was that thing, anyway?” Sam asked. Kathy looked at him like she just remembered he was there.

“An Aswang, some kind of Filipino parasite, vampire, shapeshifter…thing. One of mother's firsts. Nasty bitches. Sucks out his favorite organs in order of necessity to keep the victims alive and later puts the spare parts into one dead body. Resurrects the victim and makes it walk home to its loved ones. Imagine the looks on their faces when Johnny comes home with seven livers in his body but no heart or lungs. Some of the nastier ones specialize on sucking babies out of the womb. Rather rare, not many left,” Claire was a little pale around the nose.

“Whom you refer to as mother?” she asked hesitantly. Kathy stayed silent.

“Eve?” Sam asked. Kathy looked at him.

“Yeah. Is it true you guys killed her? She never came back to purgatory after she got out,” Kathy asked flatly.

“Dean did. With,” he paused.

“Ash of a phoenix? I know that, Sam.”

“You are not mad we killed one of your ... children? Or your, uhm, mother?” he asked and Kathy chuckled.

“No, I mean, they were probably harmless, the most of them are, but you had to do what you had to do. Hunters kill our kind all the time. The British Man of Letters killed me. I didn’t do anything either. I’m kind of used to it. I don’t like it, but I don’t let it get to me. And as for mother, she kept me like a pet. I personally couldn’t care less that she’s in the empty or whatever.”

“Who’s Eve exactly?” Claire blurred out. Kathy looked at her.

“The mother of all monsters. God made her and gave her the power to create. And she created us. Every shifter, bloodsucker and flesh eater there is. Some of them you know, some of them you don’t. Some are bad, some just wanted to live. Phoenixes…well, I sometimes think she just created me to look pretty. The Greeks really fancied my children.”

“Your children? Like you gave birth to them?” Claire asked with a frown. Kathy chuckled.

“No, but like Vamps or Werewolves I can turn a human if I want to. And they can turn humans, too. This is how it usually works. Kind of elegant, considering.”

“Oh,” Claire said. After a pause, she asked another question: “So you could turn, let’s say, Sam over there into a phoenix, if you wanted to?”

“Maybe, maybe not. 50:50 chance he won’t make it,” Kathy deadpanned. “Look, I enjoy this little chat, I really do. But I feel kind of uncomfortable talking about myself while that blonde chick is glaring daggers at me,” Kathy nodded to Mary. Then she put on her brightest smile and waved. “Hi Mrs. Winchester, how are you doing?” Mary got up and walked away. “Rude much,” Kathy mumbled. Sam couldn’t help but chuckle a little. He got serious rather quickly when he faced the contemplating look on Kathy’s face. With a smack of her lips, she snapped her eyes up straight in his. “So, Sam Winchester, tell me about your little retreat center in Kansas.”


	4. Chapter 4

Benny whistled when he entered the bunker after a proudly grinning Dean and looked around wide-eyed.

“I thought I would never see a place that neat again,” he said more to himself than to anybody else when he walked down the stairs into a room dominated by a table with a map of America. Jody and the girls had matching expressions of disbelief on their faces while Kathy looked mostly wary. She currently gave a lightbulb a cautious tab just to retreat her finger quickly like she expected it to explode. In the beginning, shortly after the big spill-out, when the lights still had been on, she had been highly suspicious towards electricity and never got the chance to actually get used to it. TV and radio were even worse. It had startled her enough she had torched half a motel room when Benny made the mistake to turn on the news. Thinking of electricity.

“How do you have electricity?”

“Magic,” Dean deadpanned and got a blank look in return. “No, seriously. Whatever powers this place? We have no idea what it is or how it works, just that it is some weird spell. Same with the plumbing. We have actual hot showers, great water pressure, too. You can take a shower if you want. Between you and me? You kind of need it,” Dean grinned. Benny scoffed.

“You’re one to talk. Mighty practical way of using a spell, have to admit that,” he looked over to Kathy who somehow managed a one-man huddle. Benny frowned. “You okay?” she shook her head and made an awkward shrug.

“It’s the warding. It’s, I don’t know. I feel it everywhere,” Dean had told them the place was warded, but Benny hadn’t expected that it would affect Kathy like that.

“I don’t feel anything,” was his helpful reply. Kathy gave him a _look_.

“Because you are basically human. It’s different with me,” she mumbled.

“About that,” Sam put a duffle on the table and walked over. “We maybe can do something about it. Find a loophole, a talisman or a spell to make you immune against it. We obviously can’t power it down, but we found ways Cas and the other angels can come in here or Crowley, so why not you. Okay?” Kathy just stared at him with a weird expression. “Or not?” he continued hesitantly. Then he shot a questioning look at Benny who had no clue why she just froze like that either.

“Kathy?”

“Crowley’s here?” she asked tonelessly.

“Uhm,” Sam started.

“The crossroad demon Crowley?”

“King of hell, actually, darling. So, who do I,” Kathy twirled around to face the man with a scruff, a surprisingly pristine black suit, and short, greying, dark hair. “Bollocks,” he said with a heavy Scottish accent when his eyes fell on Kathy. With his hands pacifyingly raised he retreated slowly out of the room. “Let me explain,” Kathy followed him slowly.

“You,” the man ran out of room and his back hit a wall.

“It was nothing personal,” Kathy still came closer. “I just did what I was told,” one of her hands closed around his throat.

“What’s going on, Benny?” Dean asked alarmed. Benny had an idea, but de-escalation was probably more urgent than lengthy explanations.

“Kathy?”

“Pity you can’t smoke out anymore, huh?” she said with a low voice and squinted eyes. It was true. Since Hell was out of business the demons already inhabiting a human body were trapped in it. Effortlessly Kathy shoved him up the wall until his feet dangled in the air. Her eyes started to glimmer and the even from his spot good ten feet away from her Benny could feel the temperature rising.

“Do something,” Sam kind of urged. The general confusion in the room was palpable. It was obvious that no one, not even the Winchesters, knew how to handle the very close on going ballistic Alpha Phoenix.

“Like what?” Benny mumbled. Crowley made some gurgling sounds and the skin under her fingers started to sizzle.

“I told you she is dangerous,” Mary snapped, somewhere from the off. Benny was half surprised she didn’t already attack wielding a sword or something.

“Kathy?” he tried again. She ignored him.

“You perfidious, insignificant, pigeon-livered demon scum,” it was apparent by now that she was about to give the demon the same treatment, she had given the Aswang two days ago.

“Alright,” Benny said more to himself than anybody else and walked to her with a determined stride pulling up his sleeve. With a mumbled “Here goes nothing,” he grabbed her naked forearm. It hurt like hell, literately, he assumed. Kathy immediately let go of the demon and jumped away from Benny.

“Are you mad?” she stared at his badly burned hand with eyes the size of a small saucer. What he just did was two things, stupid on a downright insane level, and absolutely cruel towards her. Because despite what she just did to the demon, phoenixes were rather peaceful creatures, and the last thing she wanted to do what hurt someone unintentionally, especially him.

“I’ll be fine,” he groaned. The third-degree burn was already healing. The awkward silence stretched out for a couple of very long seconds only interrupted by Crowley's soft moans and whimpers and then a rather shocked looking Kathy and an apologetically smiling Benny turned to Sam, Dean, Mary, who clutched an angel blade in her hands, Jody, Alex, Claire and a bunch of worried looking strangers. Dean stepped a step forward.

“Care to elaborate what is going on here?” he asked with an incredulous tone.

“Maybe I should,” Crowley started with a hoarse and strained voice. He was already healing, too, albeit slower than Benny.

“Shut up,” Dean and Kathy said at the same time.

“You better take this as a piece of good advice, buddy,” Benny mumbled.

“Oh, he is so not your buddy,” Kathy snapped and the vampire had to roll with his eyes. This whole situation was really absurd.

“I figured,” he flexed his hand a couple of times. “So, this is the demon, hm?” Benny eyed him up and down. “In that body?”  Kathy gave him a look. “Okay, too soon for jokes, hu?”

“I really can explain …”

“Shut up!” now Dean, Kathy, and Benny said. Kathy took a long breath. Then she tilted her head into Mary’s direction.

“What you think that’ll do,” she asked annoyed meaning the angel blade. Then she made a dismissive sound. “Benny, we are leaving,” she said already halfway to the stairs. Benny rolled his eyes, again.

“Don’t be so overdramatic,” he called after her, a little challenging on purpose. Because despite being literally thousands of years old, she could act out like a child on occasion. Benny totally understood why she was angry at the demon, but they just got here and Benny had no real intention to leave already so soon. The Winchesters needed help to keep the place safe and he made a promise. Kathy stopped, pinched the bridge between her nose and turned around slowly. The look she gave him promised a lot of words when they would be alone later.

“What is happening?” Dean asked tonelessly, more in the general room than Benny or Kathy directly and Kathy scoffed.

“You really shouldn’t trust this demon,” she made a head-jerk to Crowley who, again, decided that drawing attention to himself was the best course of action.

“In all fairness darling, you shouldn’t trust a demon in general, me specifically,” he coughed.

“Shut up,” Sam, Dean and Benny said simultaneously.

“Okay, everyone just stop for a second,” Sam announced. “Can somebody please explain what is going on here?” There was an awkward silence where everyone shared ominous looks except for Kathy who stared towards the exit and Crowley who was busy picking himself off of the floor laboriously.

“Is this the demon who sold you out to the Man of Letters?” Alex chimed in helpfully. Kathy got tight-lipped. She wouldn’t answer. Benny sighed.

“Okay, bottom line. Some time ago, back in the late 18th century she had a short fling with a rather low-level demon, and when suddenly a couple of dead bodies piled up he saved his own ass by telling the Man of Letters that showed up to investigate that it was her, provided them with a spell and a very mystical sword, and she ended up in purgatory.”

“You had a thing with _him_ ,” Claire asked with a raised eyebrow. Kathy made an ugly sound.

“No idea why Benny decided to make this part so important for the story, but yes, with him, although he _did_ inhabit a way more attractive body at the time,” Crowley, who was adjusting his tie looked rather miffed to hear that.

“Now you just being insulting, darling. That doesn’t suit you,” he said.

“I should burn your head off and leave you in a headless body that is slowly rotting away. How is that for being insulting, hm?”

“Alright,” Dean interrupted. “No one is killing anybody, not now. So cut it you two,” he sounded like an angry parent, and if Benny was being honest both looked like scolded children. All things considered, the situation wasn't just absurd, it was funny as well. “And no one is storming out either. How about that?” He asked Kathy. “We find you a room, you take a long hot shower, or a cold one, whatever you prefer, maybe we’ll find you something to eat, Sam sees what he can do to make the warding easier on you and tomorrow we’ll talk, and you,” he turned to Crowley, “maybe wanna make yourself less seen and heard for a while, hm?” the demon shrugged annoyed.

“Fine,” he snapped. “But for the record. This was something that happened nearly 250 years ago and instead of denouncing me for acting on my nature you should be impressed that I managed to whip out a long-lost Arthurian artifact,” Dean stared at him.

“Are you doing this on purpose?” he asked him with an impatient undertone. His remark had been enough to make Kathy contemplate to go for his throat again. Benny casually stepped between her and Dean and the Demon and earned an annoyed “Don’t treat me like a loose cannon” look from her. “So are you guys staying or not?” Dean asked over his shoulder.

“Yes,” Benny decided for both of them.

“Good,” Dean said and turned around. He nodded to Sam who nodded back and walked out of the room. “But you will live by the rules and the rules are no food in your room, everyone does their own dishes, no sneaking around in the dungeon and no killing others on long-held grudges, are we cool?” Kathy answer was an eye-roll and a shrug that with a lot of fantasy could be a confirmation. “Cool.”

“You have a dungeon?” Benny asked. Dean didn’t get around to answer the question since Sam came back and he had a rather scrawny guy with jug ears and a slightly too big for his face nose with him. And he happened to be a werewolf. Benny had smelled the lingering scent in the bunker, now he was hit by it, and werewolf wasn’t his favorite smell. Quite the opposite actually. He already felt his fang slip out and took a deep breath through his mouth to calm the angry vamp in him down. What was really irritating, though, was that Benny didn’t feel threatened by the werewolf, because the guy was oozing bubbly, happy energy.

“New people? Awesome. I love to meet new people. I’m Garth. Let me get you settled.”


	5. Chapter 5

 

Benny wandered around the bunker in the dead of night listening to the heartbeats of its inhabitants. He had gotten used to hearing them a long time ago, and actually, it comforted him since it was a constant reminder that he wasn’t in Purgatory anymore where nothing had been alive. It was a bit much, though, 37 beating hearts in close quarters was not a nice background sound anymore, it was noise, but he had perfected selective hearing for it anyway. The smell of blood was worse, and wouldn’t he be well fed at the moment, it would be torturing. He was looking for Dean, who he knew for a fact was around and about somewhere inside the bunker, and he finally found him in a well-used kitchen cleaning some strange looking guns. Dean looked up and wordlessly shoved a beer bottle in front of an empty chair. Benny sat down with a sigh.

“So how’s the missus?” Dean asked with a lopsided grin. Benny only huffed.

“She broodingly stares at the ceiling, pissed off, huffing and puffing. Literally,” Dean chuckled.

“Yeah, she seems a real hothead.”

“Total firecracker,” they both laughed a little. Then Dean got serious. “She will be okay, though? Keep her cool? Literally. She won’t start an enactment of the great London Fire in our living room?” Benny only rubbed the back of his neck and sipped on the beer.

“Naw, she will behave. You maybe don’t believe it between the whole Aswang thing, and the flipping around people on waves of fiery hot air and lifting them up against walls, but she is, all things considered, quite unperturbed.”

“Guess we’ll see if this is true. We kicked Crowley out for a while. He doesn’t like it. That guy,” Dean sighed around the neck of his bottle. They sat around in amicable silence for a bit.

“Why’d you hangin’ around demons in the first place? Last time I checked you were on the opposite sides of the chessboard,” Dean just shrugged.

“Generally? Yeah, we still are. That’s a long story for another time,” he looked at Benny seriously. “Look, man. I need to apologize,” Benny frowned at him.

“For what?”

“For letting you down when you needed me the most.”

“Dean,” Benny started.

“No, I _did_ let you down. You always had my back, never betrayed me, always was a good friend, _are_ a good friend and I just let you stand in the rain, because of some bullshit with my brother. He would have come around eventually. He came around now, didn't he? This is on me,” Dean said in a bitter tone. Benny just looked at him sadly.

“Now you listen, Dean. I never really planned on walking away after killing the Old Man. I wasn’t actually planning on a time after that. I am a grown man, I can handle myself. I ain’t your responsibility. I admit, the Martin disaster kicked the feet from under me, and losing you didn’t help, but it ain’t your job to take care of me. I appreciate what you are offering now, though, and really hope you ain’t walking away on me again, because brother, this had really sucked,” he chuckled a bit at that. Dean still looked serious.

“I won’t, I promise,” instead of an answer Benny just clapped Dean’s shoulder before he gave it a little squeeze and let it go. He looked around while he took another large gulp of his beer.

“So, what’s the plan here?” Dean leaned back and palmed his face.

“Plan? We don’t really have a plan. We can’t fix this Benny, even if we find a way to reverse the spell. Half of the world is just … gone,” it was obvious that Dean was somehow blaming himself for what had happened, but Benny didn’t know what to say to him. “So, surviving, I guess? Find people who managed to stay alive. Teach ‘em how to deal with all the monsters and demons and rogue angels and ghosts. Keep ‘em safe,” he mumbled. Leave it to Dean Winchester and his brother to feel obligated to save humanity. What else was new?

“How many people are here anyway? Around forty humans inside, I can tell that much. Lost count for the ones outside. Met the werewolf and his family. Seems to be a nice guy, little weird, but I have to say the purebloods kinda give me the creeps,” Dean chuckled.

“Yeah, believe me. I felt exactly the same when I first met them, and just let me tell you some of the turned out to be quite a handful, but Beth is okay. Garth as well. He used to be a hunter, got bit, and they took him in. They don’t eat hearts, except Garth of course, but he keeps it strictly animal. We have a couple of angels, Cas and what’s left if his heavens squat, eight in total. They come and go. Outside? Honestly, I lost count. Ask Sam or Garth, they keep tracks of them, maybe 80, 85 humans? I wish they could all fit in here, but our space is limited. There’re Ketch and Mary of course and Rowena. Have to say she turned out to be surprisingly helpful.”

“The witch?”

“Yeah, the witch,” When they had closed onto the perimeter that surrounded the bunker they had come across a weird barrier seemingly made out of blurry air that stretched as far as Benny could see left and right and up. Dean and the others had simply walked through it, but then Sam had to perform a short, but complicated looking ritual to let Benny and Kathy pass. They casually mentioned that a powerful witch put it up for them and that nothing could come through without invitation that wasn’t human.  

“Met her earlier. She seems to be,” Benny paused looking for words. “, an interesting person.”

“Yeah,” Dean scoffed. “That’s a word for her,” then he smirked at Benny. “Did she mention that she is Crowley’s mother?”

“As a matter of fact, she has,” Benny deadpanned. “That’s a strangely small world we are in.”

“Yeah, weird circumstances, though, to run into an ex. Although I have to say you probably have nothing to fear from Crowley,” Dean teased. Benny rolled his eyes in mock offense.

“Oh, you think?” they both laughed a little and returned back to silently sitting next to each other. Benny had to admit that he missed that. Dean, of course, couldn’t shut up for long.

“How did you end up with the Alpha Phoenix in the first place?”

“Got spilled out together,” Benny answered. Dean raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, so you just, like, were there?”

“Oh, shut up,” Benny sniggered

“I’m just messing with you.”

“I know.”

“It’s a lot of pressure, though,” Benny frowned at Dean confused.

“What do you mean,” Dean gave the label of his beer bottle a solemn peel.

“Well, if you two guys get serious you will be the stepdad of a whole species,” Benny stared at him for a second and then the only answer he could give was a laugh. “That’s like a couple of hundred birthdays and Christmases. At least. Although good thing you don’t have to worry about the murdery in-laws anymore. I took care of that.”

“I really appreciate that,” Benny said. Dean put on his brightest smile.

“You are welcome,” Dean said jovial and Benny just shook his head.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Dean just shrugged. “Do you have a dragon blood forged sword lying around here somewhere?”

“Yeah, why?” Benny raised an eyebrow and tried to keep his voice indifferent.

“No reason, just curious. Care to show me, maybe?” Dean, clearly a little confused, didn’t get around to answer, because an alarm went off. It was blaring loud in Benny’s ears making them ring.

“That’s the perimeter alarm,!” Dean somehow yelled and jumped up. He ran out of the kitchen to God knows where. Benny had another destination. Sure, enough Kathy stood in the middle of the room with a look on her face telling him that she had no idea what was going on. She stared at Benny wide-eyed.

“Benny?” the alarm stopped so suddenly it hurt his ears.

“Dean said it was the perimeter alarm,” he explained and carefully took her hand. “Come on, let’s see what‘s going on.”

“Why did it have to be so loud,” she whined a little, but followed him, nonetheless. They found Dean, Sam and Garth jammed together in a small room full of monitors. Garth was flipping through images with inhuman speed.

“There,” he finally exclaimed. The picture showed a grainy black and white picture of five people, three men and two women by the looks of it, just standing in front of the barrier doing seemingly nothing. You couldn’t make out any features in their faces that were mostly dark grey blobs.

“Can you get a better look?”

“I’m trying,” Garth zoomed in an out a couple of times, but he just made it worse.

“Is this real?” Kathy asked in a small voice. Dean turned to her. “I mean is this happening right now?”

“Yes?” he frowned at her. Kathy shared a look with Benny and suddenly pointed on the monitor.

“Do you know who that is?” all eyes fell on the monitors. One of the people, a woman was now carefully touching the barrier.

“Do you recognize somebody? How do you even do that” Sam asked with squinted eyes.

“Like you wouldn’t recognize Dean on that strange, strange … picture box,” she snapped. He considered her words with furled eyebrows until a little light in his face went on.

“Oh shit,” he mumbled.  “Dean that’s the Alpha Vampire,” he put his finger on the man in the front row. “Who are the others?”

“Werewolf,” her finger landed on one of the other men and then on the woman probing the magic barrier. “She’s Betail, I’m not sure about the others. When she’s here maybe Rakshasa, this could be Arachne.”

“This can’t be good,” Dean mumbled. “What do they want?” Kathy wasn’t answering.

“Are there any other vampires or werewolves outside?” she asked instead.

“No, maybe. Garth, where’s the rest of your pack?”

“Here. Inside,” he said confused and then his eyes went wide. Benny knew the look because he felt the same. These were Alphas outside, and Alphas could control their children. This could end in a bloodbath.

“Will the barrier hold?” Kathy suddenly asked turning to Dean with a hard face.

“Yeah, probably.”

“Yes or no. Will it hold?” she asked again, even more serious. Dean shared a look with Sam.

“Fetch Rowena, Sammy. She needs to charge up the thing. So what’s the plan here? You are planning something, right?” Dean asked pulling out his gun and checking the mag with a look of determination. She eyed down on it like she found it cute that he thought the thing would do something. She turned to Benny, gave him a small kiss and pulled back again with a sigh.

“You stay inside, you hear me?” he nodded tight-lipped. “You want to know what they want?” she asked Dean. “Then let’s go and ask them.”


	6. Chapter 6

Outside they were greeted by a lot of wide-eyed civilians. Dean would have bet they had absolutely no idea what was going on here. While it wasn’t exactly a crowd Mary still had to squeeze herself through the people.

“What is going on? Dean?” he pulled her to the side, and they had a whispered conversation. Mary glared at Kathy and stomped to her after they were done.

”Did you bring them here?” she asked, well snapped, under her breath. Kathy sighed because truth be told.

“Maybe?” she shrugged. Dean and Sam seemed genuinely surprised by that admission, while Mary looked rather triumphant. “I mean they show up here five minutes after I do? Even I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” then she exhaled and stared into the general direction of where Dean supposed the other Alphas had gathered. “Alright, keep that gun away from prying eyes and don’t, you know,” there was a short spark of amusement in her eyes when she tilted her head in Dean’s direction, “shoot your bullets prematurely,” Dean followed her into the woods.

“We _can_ just shoot them, you know. Unlike with you, that’ll do the trick,” he mumbled next to her. She gave him _a look_ and he ducked his head a little. Sam chuckled and clapped his shoulder.

“Guess that was too soon, dude,” he said lowly.

“Nobody is shooting anybody. Not unless you really have to or I say so,” Kathy said.

“Oh, now she’s in charge?” Kathy stopped and Mary, who had snapped that under her breath, ran into her back. Kathy swirled around and Mary had her raised finger in her face.

“You know what? Yes, I am. I am calling the shots now. Because I know these Alphas. I can handle them. You don’t. You have no idea whom you up against,” Dean pulled a face.

“We actually dealt with Alphas before. The Alpha vamp, and the Alpha Shapeshifter,” he got stopped by her expression. “So, yeah…”

“How did that go for you?”

“Not bad?” he suggested. She didn’t look convinced

“Really? Because I know the stories. The first let you go because he needed you to stop the Bad Batch, the second just knocked you out for some reason instead of killing you. Pray he’s not with them, because when he heard who killed Eve he made some very creative suggestions about what to do with your inner organs. You wouldn’t like it,” Mary, Sam, and Dean stared at her.

“You call Leviathans the Bad Batch? Is this like, a monster thing?” Dean asked with a lopsided smile. Kathy groaned and turned around to stomp away again. “Look, Kathy. I get that what’s happening is bad news, but that is nothing we can’t handle. By the end of the days these are just Alphas, right? Sure, bigger and stronger than your average monster, but that a couple of them just knocked on our front door doesn’t exactly send shivers down my spine,” she stopped again. This time Sam ran into her. It said a lot about the hidden strength in her that it was him going down.

“It really should,” she turned around with a grave expression. “You think that’s what they are? Just a bunch of monsters, no big deal, we’ll handle it? Some of them are. Sure. Not much smarter than the muck they crawled out of. Nothing more than animals, but do you even have an idea how many of us are out there? Your lore books didn’t even cover half of us. Not because the rest goes about their own business, meddling with humans well enough they’ll pass as one, no. This happens, occasionally, but the bigger part stayed hidden because they’re smart. And they had millennia to become even smarter. That vampire is bad news, because he’s ambitious, smart, cunning, and quite frankly a complete megalomaniac and he brought his lap dog, who happens to be one of the biggest and meanest Alphas I’ve ever met. And it’s not all clawing out hearts and draining people with these two. No, they have “ideas”, “plans”,” she made actual air quotes. “Oh, and there are some others. Older. Meaner. More powerful. You think all magic they know is flicking you through a room? Or some light telepathy? And you,” she pointed at Mary, “just gave them a free pass. You gave them an army that basically replenishes itself no matter how many you kill while reducing yours. This is paradise for them. Hell, it’s paradise for Benny, even for me. Literal monster heaven. And here you are. The famous Winchester brothers. Saving the world from ending itself since 2003, the only real obstacle for them, don’t let that go to your head, by the way, and they come a-knocking on your door? You should shit yourselves right now,” with that she walked away again leaving the other three standing there for a bit until they hurried to follow.

“What kind of plans,” Sam asked lowly and she just made an ugly snorting sound.

“The kind where you are lucky when you are not AB negative,” she only mumbled. They didn’t say anything until they arrived at the barrier. It looked blurrier and was shimmering in a light blue. Rowena must have tweaked around on it. The five figures behind it moved closer when they saw them coming, at least as close as they dared.

“Ah,” chimed the Alpha vampire’s anointed voice through the air. “I thought I smelled something burning,” he chuckled. Dean and the others stopped mere inches in front of the barrier and mustered the newcomers. Dean wasn’t quite sure what he had expected. There was the vampire, of course, a familiar face, tall and polished like a new Penny in his dark brown waistcoat and high collar button down and his sardonic smile. Behind him stood a small man with shaggy brown hair, a little hunched over which gave him a slightly crocked look. His clothes looked like he had slept in them. Seizing him up Dean suddenly felt the need to scratch himself behind the ear. The guy was probably the werewolf and he didn’t look like a threat at all wouldn’t it be for his eyes that were wicked and full of some sly intelligence. They gave Dean the creeps. The Arachne was easy to spot since she had the same eyes Roy had at the end. She smiled at them, not unfriendly, and that somehow amped up his creep level. The other two looked just like two ordinary people, a tall, lanky man with dark brown hair and eyes and a rather light skin and a woman with long, red hair in a dark, slim coat that didn’t hide that she must have a body most women would kill for. Dean didn’t even know what a Betail was exactly, but he would bet that these kinds of assets came with the territory. Kathy next to him made a sneering sound like she just smelled something funny and gave each and every one of them an appraising look. The vamp ambled a little closer to the barrier that made a low sizzling sound when he came too close. He jerked back, not violently, the motion was barely there, but Dean saw it nonetheless. He was relieved, to be honest, that the magic wall had an effect on the Alphas. “I heard you are slumming it with one of my children, but this? This is a new low, even for you. Tell me, which _human_ name you are calling yourself these days?” he somehow managed to spit the word human like the dirtiest insult ever invented. Kathy next to him shrugged.

“Thought I go with the gist of the 21st century and go for Kathy. It’s all about the abbreviations these days, no one has time anymore. And Katherine was a bit of a mouth full. I admit that. And you? Still going with Father by your little walking, talking blood bags? I bet he calls you master,” she said with an eyebrow raise to the were who snarled and jumped forward. The Vampire stopped him nearly casually with the back of his hand on his chest.

“Always so quippy,” he said. “I missed that,” his eyes fell on Dean, then on Sam and finally landed on Mary. A small smile appeared on his face. “You must be Mary Winchester. I was looking forward to meeting you. I must congratulate you to your sons. They are exceptional young men. It will be a shame, really.”

“What do you want?” Dean snapped finally running out of patience about the vampire’s highfalutin posturing. The Alpha’s eyes slowly moved to his and he raised an eyebrow in condescension.

“I am not here to talk to you,” he stated.

“Yeah, we ain’t talking to organ sacks,” the werewolf snarled. There was a pause and then the vampire sighed and rolled his eyes.

“My apologies,” he stated. “He is a bit enthusiastic. A lot of exciting things are about to happen”

“Like what?” Kathy asked casually. A sardonic grin appeared on the vampire’s face, and the were’s face, and the Betail and the possible Rakshasa shared a look. The Arachne, on the other hand, looked mostly bored.

“Oh, you know the plan,” Kathy scoffed and shook her head. A vacant expression appeared on her face. She wasn’t saying something for a long time. “There is a place for you in this new world, as well,” the vampire said. Dean looked up. That guy was really going all in.

“What is he talking about Kathy? What plan?” he snapped. She ignored him. Instead, she eyed over to the Arachne.

“You are in on that?” the woman just nodded. “Who else?” what the hell? Whatever the vampire just offered, was she seriously considering it? The Arachne still wasn’t saying anything, she just tilted her head a little and shrugged, like the answer to this question was obvious. Kathy sighed. She had started pacing, not nervously, thoughtfully and slowly. Dean’s fingers found the gun in his belt and closed around its grip. The whole thing here felt wrong. “And you really think you can pull this off?” Kathy now asked the Vampire whose smile turned from sardonic to cheerful.

“Oh, you have no idea how many allies we gathered already. They will never stand a chance, and who doesn’t comply, we kill,” he chuckled gleefully and looked at Dean, “or turn.”

Dean slowly pulled out the Colt. He could see from the corner of his eyes that Sam had his hand around his angel blade as well, but he hadn’t pulled it, probably knowing that when push came to shove it would do nothing to stop Kathy who suspiciously sounded like she was about to join the gang outside the barrier to follow through with whatever big plan the Alphas had cooked up. Kathy had stopped again and stared in the woods.

“What’s in it for me?” she asked and turned around to resume the pacing. For a split second, she looked at Dean and the half-hidden gun behind his back, and the tiniest shook of her head made Dean stop his movement. He slipped the gun back slowly. “I mean it is blatantly obvious there is no real advantage here for me,” she paused, looking for words. “Let’s say I don’t need a steady food source.”

“How about revenge?” the Betail chimed in. She had a weird accent. Sounded oriental. “For what they did to you, to your children,” she made a head jerk to Sam. “You do know what they did to one of yours?”

“Never was on for revenge. Too messy,” Kathy deadpanned.

“Don’t tell me part of you doesn’t want to char off the skin of these two lumberjacks for what they did to Elias,” Kathy’s eyebrows knit together.

“Who told you that name?” she asked with squinted eyes.

“We had a little chat with Luthor. How do you think we found you?” the vampire answered for her. Now Kathy looked shocked under a carefully guarded façade. Dean had no idea what was happening here.

“Did you kill him?” she asked flatly, and Dean was sure, scared of the answer. The vampire scoffed.

“Love,” he said annoyed. “You truly love your children, aren’t you? What do you think?” her eyes flashed violet in an instant. All five Alphas stepped back immediately. The Betail eyed up the barrier, probably wondering if it worked both ways. The vampire lifted his hands calmingly. “We didn’t. We even let him go on his merry way. We don’t kill our kind.”

“We are not the same kind,” she pressed out. The vampire tsked sadly.

“Oh, we are, you can pretend all you want. I have all our best interests in mind, yours, too. Tell me if I am lying,” the violet died down gradually, and she just stared at him, long, and hard. Then she scoffed.

“To quote a demon I once knew. Bugger off,” she snapped, turned around and already walked away. Dean looked at Sam who shrugged helplessly. He didn’t know what was going on as well.

“I can let Benjamin go,” the vampire called after her, rather casually. Kathy stopped abruptly enough she nearly tripped. “He can be free. I wouldn’t be able to get in his head, even if I tried. You and he can have a life somewhere, unbothered,” Dean’s hand found the Colt unconsciously again. Kathy just stood there, tall and motionless. “All I am asking of you is to get the others on our side as well,” a sudden grin crawled in Kathy’s face.

“So, you don’t have the others on board, already, hm?” she said in a chitchat tone. Dean personally hadn’t known that vampires could pale. She turned back to the Alphas and strolled towards them. “I wonder what they’ll say to your little plan. It’s so…unsavoury, and I know for a fact that some of them really hold a grudge against slavery of any kind.”

“You,” he couldn’t go on due to a lack of words.

“I guess I’ll have a word with them then.”

“You are a traitor to your own kind,” he snapped.

“Aw, you say it like that’s a bad thing. You know you lot always disgusted me with your blood drinking, soul sucking, heart eating and general yuck. Strolling around pretending to be something better, superior, while you are all just bottom feeding parasites, hating humanity for being purer than you, for being truly alive. Even now they’ll prove that to you, working together, trying to build something better against all odds. You will never understand that, no matter how many of our brothers and sisters you gather around yourself. You will be betrayed left and right. It will be a piece of cake to crush you and your bunch of swamp things,” they had closed in on the barrier and stared into each other’s faces menacingly. It made a low humming sound, it was actually sort of threatening.

“You know we have the means to kill you,” the vampire snapped.

“Not for good, so you better get all of me or some poor little critter dies on the wrong spot and look who’s back.”

“I will kill your vampire lover after I let him kill all of your new friends,” look who showed his true colors.

“I am looking forward to seeing you try.”

“Okay everybody back off,” the eyes of all six Alphas fell on Dean who stood there with the Colt in his hand pointing it straight at the vampire’s forehead. All of them had the same expression, like they just remembered he was even there. The five on the other side retreated slowly when they realized what exactly he held in his hand. “You better get going or I start shooting,” he threatened, unsure what else to say. The were and the Rakshasa recoiled like Dean had shot already. The vampire, on the other hand, looked like he wasn’t done here yet. The Betail put a hand on his shoulder.

“This isn’t over,” he snarled before he followed the others into the woods. The low humming of the barrier died down leaving an eerie silence behind.

“What the hell!” Dean yelled at Kathy. “What was that? What’s that plan? Did you just declare war against the other Alphas?” Kathy didn’t say anything for a long time, then she turned to Dean. She looked tired.

“I guess I have,” she let a hand run through her air. “I gotta go.”

“What?”

“Benny and these werewolves need to come with me. You are not safe her with them.”

“What do you mean?” she just kept walking back to the bunker. Dean grabbed her by her arm. Under normal circumstances, like her being an ordinary human woman, the grip would be tight enough to make her bruise and most definitely stop, now he didn’t even slow her down. She basically dragged him behind her effortlessly while he clung to her. “Kathy, please, stop!” that seemed to make an impression because she did. Dean looked her in the eyes. “What plan is this? What is goin’ on?”

“The plan is Utopia. A new world order, new rules, and a steady food supply for them," she rolled her eyes a little, "us, I guess. A human food supply. They plan on cattling you like sheep, breeding you like chicken to harvest you for your organs. Enslavement of humanity, just like Mother intended. A besides everything I just said to him? They might be able to do this.”

“What?” was all Dean could say. He let her go slowly.

“And that’s it? You just leave us, then?” Sam asked her and she gave him a long, sad look. Then she shook her head.

“No, what? Weren’t you listening? This is not in all our best interest. The idea….sucks. I like humans. You are fun and loyal and, entertaining. I don’t know. His monster utopia would ruin everything. I mean everything is ruined already, but it would ruin everything even more. Besides, there is something like a hierarchy here, and deep down I am very conservative that way. So I’m gonna go and get help.”

“Help from who?” she tilted her head and stared at Dean impatiently.

“She means other Alphas, Dean,” Sam mumbled under his breath.

“We are coming with you,” Dean said quickly like a shot. She frowned at him.

“No, you won’t.”

“The hell we are,” Sam now added. Kathy looked incredulous.

“The hell you won’t. You need to stay here, prepare for an attack.”

“In case you didn’t notice. We have Angels on our hands that still are literally a hundred times more powerful than every Alpha. You will need our help.”

“With what exactly?” she asked him a genuine question mark in her face. To be honest, Dean had no idea.

“You will need us,” he just repeated stoically. Kathy turned to Mary.

“Is this self-righteous, ready to sacrifice myself thing something they got from your side, or,” she trailed off. Then she shrugged. "That’s dangerous for me. It’s probably a suicide mission for you,” she said seriously. Dean shared a look with Sam who shrugged as an answer.

“We commit suicide all the time. Seems to work out fine for us,” there was a long silence between them. Kathy just trying to glare him down while he held his own.

“Well then, the more the merrier.”


End file.
